Their First Date
by Falneou17
Summary: It's what anybody in love is looking forward to the most, and for Aoba Moca and Shirokane Rinko the day has finally come: they are about to go out on their first date together! It is supposed to be one of their happiest days yet, but how will they react when their date takes a turn for the worse and repressed memories start to resurface? Contains character death.


**Do you know what is one of the best things about writing for a fandom since it basically began and having readers who have been reading your stuff for just as long? I mean, aside from the knowledge that people seemingly do enjoy the writing I post on a somewhat regular basis since the beginning of April of 2017 (as that would have been too obvious).**

**They get a good grasp of who I am as a writer and who I am as a person, and they can start to see certain patterns in how I write. They know who I like to write, who I don't like to write, what kind of themes my stories usually revolve around and who my favorite characters are to use in those kinds of stories.**

**Which, as the writer who knows this very fact, I would be able to take advantage of that fact, don't you think?**

**Either way, whether you know what I am talking about or not… let's start this oneshot off right, shall we~?**

**I do not own BanG Dream! Girls Band Party nor do I, in any way, shape or form, intend to pretend that I do.**

**Also, much like _a certain_ oneshot I have already published… I do not regret the contents of this oneshot whatsoever… but to avoid people coming after me in the future who glossed over all the warnings I have already posted regarding this story…**

**In case either that "tragedy" tag or the summary isn't enough of a hint: this oneshot does contain character death, so… there's your warning once again. And now****… on to the oneshot!**

* * *

It was a warm and sunny Thursday afternoon when Shirokane Rinko quietly closed the door behind her. She had just been summoned by her homeroom teacher and, having dreaded the worst, was pleasantly surprised when the older woman told her the reason for Rinko being there. With a bright grin that could rival the sun shining outside, Rinko knew that she could not be happier than she was at that moment.

Rinko was just informed by her homeroom teacher that her application to her first-choice university had been accepted. In addition, while it was only an informal announcement at the time, her teacher had also congratulated Rinko on her stellar academic performance this past couple of months. Both of these came as a huge relief for the girl as she had been having consecutive sleepless nights after having submitted her application.

Rinko had also been the star musician in the latest Roselia live show, receiving more cheers and shouts of praise than she had ever gotten before as a reward for her performance. And if that wasn't enough, Rinko, with the help of her long-time friend Udagawa Ako, managed to finally defeat that annoying boss monster she had been fighting for weeks in _Neo Fantasy Online_.

It was because of this that everybody she passed on her way outside was wondering where that big grin on Rinko's face came from. Rinko did her best to ignore them, instead focusing her attention on planning out the new outfit designs for Roselia's next live in her head. She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she almost jumped when a familiar voice called out her name.

"Rinko-san!"

Rinko looked up when she heard her name called, scanning the area to see the source of the sound. Her gaze finally landed on the person standing by the school gate, a girl about Rinko's height who was waving at her enthusiastically. The bright smile on the girl's face perfectly matching the light shining in her eyes when she saw that Rinko had seen her.

Lowering her head as she hurried to join the younger girl, more so to try and hide the grin on her face than out of nerves, Rinko finally looked up when she had reached her destination. Rinko was now face-to-face with a girl who was about her age despite being one year Rinko's junior. Her ivory-colored hair was comfortably covered by the light grey hoodie that she wore.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Rinko quickly apologized as soon as she knew that she was within hearing distance of her friend. Despite knowing that she did not need to do this, Rinko could not help but bow her head slightly before speaking again, "Did you wait long for me, Aoba-san?"

"I didn't, I have only been here for about three minutes or so," The younger girl shook her head in reassurance, the hood of her hoodie flapping in sync with the motion. Moca then stopped moving to instead glare playfully at Rinko, "And what did I say about calling me 'Aoba-san' now that we finally agreed to go out together?"

Rinko could not help but smile after hearing those words, even though her cheeks were showing off the slightest hints of red on them. She knew that she would have to stop calling Moca by her surname now, but she did not know if she could do that yet.

As Rinko was going over her options, Moca looked like she was about to speak again when something else caught her eye. Getting on her tiptoes to look over Rinko's shoulder, the girl in a hoodie pointed to someone behind Rinko and said, "Looks like someone wants to talk with you, Rinko-san."

As soon as the younger girl's words reached Rinko's ear the keyboardist turned around to see that someone was standing behind her. The newcomer was a tall girl with flowing teal-colored hair that reached well below her waist. She wore the same school uniform that Rinko was wearing, but Rinko did not need to see this outfit to recognize the girl.

What caught Rinko by surprise were two notable things about Sayo that she knew was unusual even for her. The first was that Sayo did not seem like she was the healthiest she could be. Sayo's hair was matted and seemed rather frazzled, there were dark and heavy bags under Sayo's eyes and Sayo herself was very interested in a patch of dirt a few centimeters away from her right foot.

Rinko was about to ask her bandmate if there was something she could do for her when Sayo took the opportunity to start talking herself, "Shirokane-san? Are you heading home now?"

Rinko frowned at Sayo's question and not because of the question itself. She had always admired the guitarist as the embodiment of confidence and directness, two things that she had yearned for herself for as long as she could remember, but the Sayo in front of her seemed… almost afraid to talk to Rinko.

"Yes, I have… finished all the paperwork already," Rinko tried to suppress the shudder to maintain the image she had built up for herself. She knew that she could not lose face even if school hours had already ended for the day, but Rinko could not help but worry. Taking a moment to shake her head to clear her mind of such thoughts, Rinko took a moment to motion to the girl standing beside her and added, "I promised… Afterglow's Ao—I mean, M-Moca-chan… that I would go… on a… on a date with her…"

The attraction between Roselia's keyboardist and Afterglow's guitarist in the last couple of months had been the talk of the school, both of their schools, and Rinko was not spared from her share of teasing. She managed to endure it for this very moment, the moment she could finally be with who she loves, and had naively thought that Sayo would be supportive of her. Or, at the very least, cheer the keyboardist on like she always did.

What Rinko had not expected was what happened next.

Sayo flinched when she heard Rinko say those words before looking between Rinko and Moca. She then gulped loudly, fumbled with the collar of her shirt and looked down to the side as she softly muttered, "W-Well then… I hope that... you and Aoba-san have a nice day."

Without even saying goodbye, Sayo turned around and hurried back inside the school building. Sayo's departure left an awkward silence to hang around the two remaining girls, a period in which Rinko was trying her hardest to ignore the stares she was getting from passing students.

"That was… weird of Hikawa-san…" Rinko thought out loud as she stared in the direction Sayo had run off to. She quickly shook her head to clear her mind and put on a smile as she turned around herself, "Sorry about that… Moca-chan. Shall we?"

"Please don't worry, Rinko-san~ Moca-chan didn't mind at all~," Moca said with a smile on her face, reassuring the older of the two that she was unaffected by Sayo's actions. While Rinko did feel reassured by Moca's words, something about that smile of Moca's was unsettling the girl. It was a similar feeling that she always felt in the morning, but what it actually was Rinko could not name.

Before Rinko could say or do anything else, she felt her hand shoot up to her forehead while the other was pressed against the brick wall to try and stabilize herself. Rinko could, much to her relief, stop herself from crying out, but only barely.

The pain subsided as fast as it had arrived and Rinko was already standing upright several seconds later.

"S-Sorry…" Rinko muttered softly, trying her best not to look Moca in the eyes as the words left her mouth. Being much more interested in the shoelaces of her right shoe, Rinko lowered her head to hide her embarrassment for a moment, 'It is your first date, Rinko! Get a hold of yourself!'

As Rinko was busy belittling herself within the confines of her mind, Moca was left watching Rinko whilst being blissfully unaware of what was really going on. Even though Moca could make an educated guess, she knew better than to make Rinko even more self-conscious than she already was.

Which meant that Moca was left standing there, waiting patiently for Rinko to regain her composure. Not making a move to comfort the older girl or to say anything, only watching silently and waiting with the ghosts of a smile on her lips.

It was after a handful of minutes had passed that Moca's patience was finally rewarded.

"L-Let's get… going, Moca-chan…" Rinko said with a small sigh, her left hand shooting up to her hair and tucking some strands behind her ear. When Rinko heard an affirmative noise from Moca she could not help but smile herself, "Where shall we… go first?"

* * *

The city that Rinko and Moca lived in was not a big one, but it had enough points of interests for new couples to visit. The most popular among these were the live houses that both girls were very familiar with. Rinko even had a live in one of these, the Galaxy live house, not too long ago. Unfortunately for the two of them, no live house in the area would have a performance they could go watch together until much later that night.

With live houses no longer an option, the two of them continued to look further. Moca had brought them to the recently-opened cinema in the hopes that they could watch a movie together and Rinko had followed close behind, already playing out scenarios in her head. The two of them almost instantly agreed to turn around and walk the other way when they saw the types of movies that were on show. Rinko's face was still radiating almost half an hour later.

"Welcome!" a brightly-smiling brunette wearing the café's signature uniform greeted Rinko the moment she stepped inside. She made a move to bow in Rinko's direction when her eyes landed on the customer and grew wide in recognition, "Rinko-san! Ah, sorry… it's just… I wasn't expecting to see you today."

Rinko looked up at her fellow keyboardist while trying to process what she had just heard. Tsugumi did not expect to see Rinko at the café? Rinko knew that she was not the type to go out much and that the last time she went to this café was weeks ago, but…

'What is happening? First Hikawa-san and now Hazawa-san as well? Is everyone not feeling well or something?' Rinko thought as she eyed Tsugumi with a watchful eye, trying to pick up any hints that could help her read the younger girl. Being the expert at social interactions that she was, Rinko ended up sighing in defeat soon after.

The only thing that Rinko managed to pick up were the bags under Tsugumi's red eyes, but she did not pay too much attention to them. The school exams had only recently ended and Rinko knew how stressful those days can be.

Having given up on trying to find something to explain Tsugumi's behavior, Rinko was reminded that she needed to answer when Tsugumi had called out her name again. Rinko quickly apologized for being distracted before properly responding.

"Moca-chan and I were… in the area… and thought we could go here…" Rinko explained, motioning to the girl beside her to help show Tsugumi that she was here with Moca. Trying to suppress the flustered squeal that threatened to escape her throat, Rinko took a deep breath before stealing herself to ask what she had wanted to ask for a long time, "Is there… a table for two… available?"

Because Rinko had to lower her head as she made her request to hide her embarrassment from the younger girl, she did not see the look on Tsugumi's face. When Rinko mentioned her childhood friend's name, a glint of understanding appeared in Tsugumi's eyes.

"Right, of course. This way, please follow me, Rinko-san," Tsugumi shook her head to get the unnecessary thoughts out of her head so she could focus on her job. Tsugumi waited for Rinko to show that she had heard her before turning around and leading Rinko to an empty table in the corner of the café.

After Rinko and Moca had been seated, Tsugumi was about to offer them a menu card when they revealed that they had already decided their drinks. Tsugumi made a quick mental note of the order and silently excused herself.

The departure of Tsugumi was a welcomed change for Rinko as she felt pressured in Tsugumi's presence. However, in Rinko's desire to be left alone with Moca she had overlooked one tiny little problem she was now faced with.

Rinko was alone with Moca.

How should Rinko keep Moca from getting too bored? What does Moca like to talk about at times like this? What can Rinko talk about to keep the conversation going and where she would not end up stumbling every other word and what would interest Moca enough to not yawn and—Rinko shook her head in a desperate effort to keep calm and not let the worries overtake her.

'Pull yourself together, Shirokane Rinko!' Rinko yelled at her internally while praying to whatever holy deity watched over her that Moca was not catching on to Rinko's worries. She forced herself to take a couple of deep breaths and reminded herself of what Lisa had told her not too long ago, 'Just… try and stay calm and follow along at Moca-chan's pace… all right…'

As Rinko was trying to get her thoughts sorted and think of a way to break the silence, the girl sitting at the other side of the table was looking at Rinko with a soft smile on her lips. Her eyes appeared to be rather hazy and cloudy and she, like Rinko, was remaining quiet. Moca's silence was for an entirely different reason, however.

When Rinko opened her mouth for the fifth time in twelve minutes only to close it again after reconsidering her words, Tsugumi came back with a silver tray that held a single glass on it. The brunette placed the big glass of strawberry milkshake in front of the patron. The drink was completely decorated with a generous amount of whipped cream, a handful of strawberries sticking out of the cream, and a fancy curly straw.

Tsugumi had already bowed and turned around when she was stopped by Rinko holding on to her wrist. The brunette flinched at the sudden contact but managed to maintain her composure when she turned to look at the customer with a strained smile, "How may I help you, Rinko-san?"

"Um, well…" Rinko, now that she needed to come up with something to say, realized that she was at a loss of words. She desperately glanced over to Moca to see how she was taking this but Moca was still looking out the window, not offering any support.

Growing more aware of the fact that other customers were starting to watch her curiously, Rinko swallowed down her worries and pointed to Moca, "Where is Moca-chan's drink? Shouldn't… shouldn't hers be faster… than mine?"

Tsugumi flinched more at Rinko's words than Rinko did when the crowd at the Galaxy live house cheered for her encore. Tsugumi wrenched her hand out of Rinko's grip, rubbed the red skin with her other hand and fell silent in thought to think of a way to tell Rinko this.

"Right, of course. I will go to the kitchen and ask them to work on M-Moca-chan's order right away," Tsugumi said quickly before she forced herself to smile and bow. Neither of which were as Tsugurific as usual but Tsugumi did not pay much attention to that, "My apologies for the inconvenience, and please wait a little while longer."

"A-Ah all right, then. Thank you… Hazawa-san…" Rinko thanked the waitress with a shaky smile of her own. Tsugumi left soon after and Rinko decided she could not stop her curiosity forever, "Moca-chan… don't you think… that Hazawa-san acted… weird?"

Moca did not respond right away; instead, she took a moment to look up at the ceiling. Rinko understood the silent gesture and waited patiently for several seconds before Moca sighed.

"Tsugu… never knew when to take it easy and relax. Instead, she always pushed herself for her friends and family. It would not surprise me if Moca-chan found out that she was losing sleep again for whatever reason," Moca began, suddenly sounding exhausted herself. Afterglow's guitarist took a moment to gather the words she needed before she added, "So please don't hold it against Tsugu if it just slipped her mind or something. It wouldn't bother Moca-chan."

Rinko could not say that she agreed with Moca completely as she felt like Moca should have gotten her drink by now. However, Rinko had to admit, at least silently to herself, that she understood Moca's words. It also wasn't something worth getting worked up over if Moca was this calm, so Rinko kept her mouth shut.

The heavy and awkward silence between the two girls lasted until Moca told the older girl that she shouldn't wait to enjoy her drink. Rinko was about to assure Moca that she did not want to start before her but never had the chance.

"Now. Drink."

Moca had, albeit more forcefully so than she had originally intended, pushed the end of the straw in Rinko's mouth. Rinko's eyes were wide in surprise at first, but she eventually relented and allowed herself to take a sip.

The Hazawa Café was known in the area for having some of the best drinks at an affordable price for students like Moca and Rinko to come here weekly. Up until this moment, Rinko had assumed this reputation only held true for specific items on the menu.

This was the reason why Rinko had ordered a milkshake as she was curious to find out how it tasted. And it was thanks to this decision that she found out that this reputation extended to their other drinks as well.

"That was… amazing…" Rinko managed to breathe out, looking at her drink with wide eyes as she wondered how the café managed to bring out the flavors so much. She was going to praise the drink more when Moca swiped the drink and pulled it towards her, "Moca-chan?"

"As Moca-chan should have come to expect from this café, that was amazing!" Moca grinned after taking a sip of her own. Before Rinko could say anything, whether to agree with Moca or complain how her drink was already stolen, Moca looked up with a playful smirk, "Also… that was a nice indirect kiss, Rinko-san~."

"I-Indirect…?" Rinko echoed softly as she tried to process what had just happened. Her eyes traveled between the straw of her drink to the lips of her date and it was only then that she got it.

Rinko felt the blood rush up to her face and her hands instinctively shot up to try and cover her face. Rinko was confident that, had she been a fictional character in a romance anime, steam would already be whistling out of both of her ears.

Rinko barely even recognized Tsugumi's voice when the brunette came back with a new glass. Knowing that she still had to act the senior she was, Rinko forced herself to take her hands away and smile at Tsugumi.

"How is the milkshake, Rinko-san?" Tsugumi asked as she bowed slightly, looking at the older girl with eyes that were filled with both hope and a bit of fear. She then sheepishly added, "It's a relatively new item so Papa is still trying to find the best ratios. Do you have any suggestions, Rinko-san?"

Rinko was about to answer when she saw that the younger girl was already holding a small notepad and pen in her hands. With a sigh, Rinko realized that she could not take the easy way out. Not wanting to drag this out any longer than she had to, Rinko told the waitress her honest opinion on the drink.

"I see… I will tell Papa to reduce the sugar we use the next time," Tsugumi murmured distantly as she hastily took note of the comment. Satisfied enough, the brunette bowed again before excusing herself, leaving Moca and Rinko alone once again.

"Does… Hazawa-san's father… do this often?" Rinko couldn't help but ask her date as she kept her eyes on her drink. If what Tsugumi had said was true, then her father was taking a big gamble giving new drinks to customers like this. Either that or was being very open with allowing critiques.

"He used to, yeah," Moca said with a shrug, looking at her own drink for a moment before deciding to answer Rinko's question more properly, "He used to ask Hii-chan all the time as Hii-chan would come here almost daily."

"So he always… asked customers for input?" Rinko asked, wanting to make sure. The response she received was a single nod which, much to Rinko's surprise, eased her worries a lot. Her shoulders relaxed and she slumped back a bit in her seat.

With the tension now no longer an issue, Rinko managed to keep up with the conversation she was having with Moca. She did not even keep track of what the two of them were talking about while in the café; one topic transitioned into the next almost seamlessly and then the next one after that. All that mattered to Rinko was that she was with Moca and that the two of them were happy and having a good time.

Something that did catch Rinko's eyes, however, were the looks she was getting from the other patrons of the café. At first, she felt uncomfortable by their stares and her discomfort hindered her enjoyment of the date. The combination of Moca's indifference to them and Tsugumi taking a moment out of her day to talk to the other customers helped put Rinko's heart at ease.

Having stayed at the café long enough to both girls' liking, Moca and Rinko stood up and walked up to the register to make their payment. Rinko had already taken out her wallet when she was in for yet another surprise that day.

"I'm sorry, Hazawa-san… could you… repeat that, please?"

"I said that your date was on the house. You two don't need to pay at all," Tsugumi said, the kind gesture contrasted by the way she tried her hardest to not look at Rinko. Unfortunately for the brunette, her jumpiness caused her to knock over several forks on the ground.

The clanging of the metal on the floor resonated through the café, muting out all other sounds and putting the spotlight on Tsugumi. With a beet-red head, Tsugumi apologized to the other patrons for her incompetence before kneeling down to try and pick up the fallen utensils.

Rinko wanted to try and help but stopped when she felt Moca grab her hand. Forcing the blood to stay away from her face, Rinko looked at Moca and understood immediately what Moca wanted to say.

Giving a quiet apology and word of gratitude, Rinko followed Moca out of the café. As soon as she knew that she was alone again, Tsugumi lowered her head and sighed.

"Of all places… why here…?" Tsugumi thought out loud as she tried to wipe her eyes dry. She was still on the job and needed to be professional so there was no room for showing her tears.

Tsugumi had picked up all the fallen forks within the next couple of minutes and handed them over to a colleague, asking the younger girl to put them in the dishwasher. Tsugumi then took her tray and walked up to the booth she had served.

Tsugumi knew what she would find when she arrived, but seeing one of the glasses seemingly untouched still tore at her heartstrings. Tsugumi tried not to look at the glass in question as she brought both of them back to the kitchen, threw out the remaining contents in both, and loaded the dishwasher.

When she was done with that she mentioned something about taking a ten-minute break to another waitress and went in the back. Once alone again, the brunette dug through her pockets for her phone and pulled it out.

* * *

With their energy levels temporarily recharged at the Hazawa Café, the couple of Moca and Rinko were faced with their old nemesis: finding something to do together again. Rinko had even almost brought up doing something out of her comfort zone when Moca surprised her.

"I-I'm sorry?" Rinko had already voiced the question before she could stop herself. Trying to suppress her sense of embarrassment, Rinko turned to her girlfriend and tried to rephrase her question more eloquently, "What did you mean… are you sure?"

"Of course, Moca-chan wouldn't lie to you, Rinko-san," Moca tried to reassure the older girl. She took a moment to skip a few steps ahead, turned around on her heel, clasped her hands behind her back and smiled brightly at Rinko, "Please show Moca-chan that again?"

Moca had also closed her eyes as she gave Rinko her request again, and it was because of this that she failed to register Rinko's reaction.

Rinko was torn. On the one hand, Moca's smile never failed to make Rinko's heart skip a beat, and the way Moca stood with the sun setting behind her was really succeeding in making Rinko weak in the knees. On the other hand, while Rinko was not opposed to fulfilling Moca's request, there was something she was troubled with.

"Is… is it really okay?" Rinko asked, looking at Moca with worry filling her eyes. Rinko wanted to try and offer to do something else but Moca would have none of it.

"If we don't go now it will close before we get there," Moca reasoned without missing a beat. Rinko had a feeling that Moca had not only already predicted Rinko's reaction but prepared words of reassurance to ease Rinko's mind as well.

As a matter of fact, Rinko was sure that this was the case if she knew Moca as well as she hoped she did.

"All right…" Rinko finally relented, not completely convinced that this was a good idea yet but still considerably calmer about this decision now.

With Rinko now leading the way, the two girls settled back into their respective rhythms. Although there was one significant difference now than earlier: Rinko found herself to be more capable of keeping up with Moca.

In Rinko's eyes, Moca was this unobtainable angel of a human, everything she wanted to be and nothing she thought she was. Moca was always shining brightly to guide Rinko's way through the night but never so intensely that it would blind her. Even amongst Moca's group of friends, Rinko knew that Moca played a vital role in keeping them together and maintaining the mood.

Rinko was also no stranger how hard Moca was working to support her friends, even if the guitarist always pretended like she wasn't. Rinko had, after taking three days to gather her courage in one place, confronted Moca about it.

Moca had given her the simplest response that Rinko had ever received for a question.

_"Everybody cares about Moca-chan and means everything to little old Moca-chan, so the least Moca-chan can do to repay them is to make their first effort of kindness worth their effort, right?"_

"Rinko-san?"

Rinko was brought back from the fond memory of a bright smile to find the object of her affection looking at her with an unreadable expression. Rinko processed both worry and concern in Moca's eyes, but she also picked up on a third emotion she could not quite place yet.

Rinko never got the chance to see what that third emotion was as Moca saw that Rinko's distant look had disappeared.

"We should be close by now, right?" Moca asked with impeccable timing; the building that the two of them were walking towards was finally coming into view. Moca suppressed laughing at this coincidence and her mirth quickly vanished to make room for a new emotion, "Um… Rinko-san?"

"Yes, Moca-chan?"

Moca did not respond right away to Rinko's question in return and the two girls ended up simply staring at one another. Neither moving, neither speaking, neither showing any signs that they would break the silence.

Moca was much too stubborn for own good. Both girls knew that Moca would never pass up on the opportunity to tease those she was close to, from Himari to Ran to even Lisa, Rinko remembered as she recalled that fateful day. And while Rinko was gushing internally that she had reached this status, she also could not help but wish that Moca would just outright tell her.

Rinko, on the other hand, was troubled. She was never known as the girl who could speak her mind without stumbling over her own words. She also had no idea what Moca was thinking about at that very moment, a fact that caused her to second-guess herself even more than she usually did.

"Rinko-san!"

"Moca-chan!"

Both girls flinched visibly when they heard the other girl call their name, neither one of them had expected that they would speak at the same moment like that. The two of them turned to look at each other and they knew the other was thinking the same thing: what do they do now?

It was eventually Moca who managed to shake off the hesitation.

"Rinko-san," Moca began, trying her hardest to keep her voice steady. Contrary to what some people who know Moca might think, Moca was not immune to emotional pressure. In the situation Moca was finding herself in right now Moca sure was wishing that she was.

Knowing that she wasn't, Moca took a deep breath before looking up at Rinko and finishing her sentence before her resolve would shatter, "What did you want to say to me, Rinko-san?"

"Um… well… actually…" Rinko trailed off, unable to finish her sentence. Instead, Rinko was too preoccupied having her eyes dart all around, looking at everything but the girl of her dreams standing only a few meters away. Finally, Rinko looked at Moca and before she looked away again she added, "I was… going to ask Moca-chan…what she wanted… to ask."

Moca blinked a couple of times after Rinko's words finally reached her ears, but it was her actual reaction that ultimately took Rinko off guard.

Moca had thrown her head back and began laughing. It wasn't even a soft chuckle that gradually grew louder, either; Moca was roaring with laughter. She was even holding on to her sides as she laughed, trying her hardest to not fall over.

Rinko, despite her own sets of worries, could already feel the corners of her mouth quiver. She knew that she was on the verge of laughing herself, but she tried to keep it in. Not only for her pride and dignity as she knew she may not recover from bursting out laughing in public, but also out of curiosity.

Moca still had not actually answered Rinko's question.

"S-Sorry about that, Rinko-san," Moca gave Rinko an apologetic smile before using the back of her hands to wipe the corner of her eyes. Still trembling slightly from the remnants of the laughs, Moca tried to give Rinko a proper response, "Moca-chan just saw the scary look on Rinko-san's face and thought she should say something about it."

"Scary… look?" Rinko echoed, her mind already replaying what happened earlier to try and pinpoint what Moca was talking about. Rinko was, however, unable to properly figure out what Moca was referring to. Pushing down her worries back to where they came from, Rinko gathered enough of her composure to ask Moca directly.

Moca did not give a verbal response to Rinko's question. What Moca did, however, was contort her face into a frown. It seemed to be taking a lot of effort for Moca to maintain this expression as she quickly smiled again.

Rinko wanted to say something, mentally debating whether she should comment on Moca's imitation of her or ask if she really was frowning like that, but she was not given the chance to do so. Moca had waved her hand in front of Rinko's face before motioning to the building they were standing in front of.

It was only now that Rinko was fully aware of where the two girls were.

"Come on, we've already been standing here for a while," Moca exclaimed with a smile as she stood by Rinko's side. Then, in a significantly mellower voice and almost embarrassedly so, Moca added, "Um… can Rinko-san go get our spots? Moca-chan… needed to go to the bathroom for a while now…"

Rinko took a moment to look at Moca, trying to see if what she had just said was the truth or not. When Rinko could not find any sign that Moca was joking she had to quickly look the other way to hide the smile.

"I will… see you inside then, Moca-chan," Rinko said, acknowledging Moca's plight and stepping inside the building. Had it been any other building, Rinko's social anxiety might have gone in overdrive, preventing the keyboard prodigy from taking another step. Fortunately for Rinko, this was a building that she was very comfortable with.

The first thing that Rinko noticed when she stepped inside was how many people there are. She knew that it was still a Thursday and a lot of the students would still have classes the next day, but Rinko had never seen this place _empty_. The only person she could see, aside from Moca who was making a beeline to the toilets, was the young woman sitting behind the counter. Rinko recognized her, but could not attach a name to the face.

Rinko gathered her courage and walked up to the front of the reception desk. Knowing that she was doing this for Moca gave her the confidence she needed to not miss a step, and Rinko was happy to see that she did not stumble over her own words.

"Um… excuse me?" Rinko asked the older woman, getting her attention in the process. Rinko did flinch at the sudden attention that she was getting, despite knowing that this was her original aim to begin with, but tried her hardest to not let this show, "Can I have… two seats, one hour each?"

The woman nodded with a stiff smile, her fingers dancing across the keyboard of the computer in front of her before she handed Rinko two passes. As Rinko handed over the money in exchange for the passes, she was graced by a small smile, "You are a regular here, aren't you? I am assuming you know your way around here?"

"I do, thank you," Rinko bowed slightly as she pocketed the two passes. Rinko then turned around quickly and headed for the toilets where she saw Moca run off to, hoping to surprise her.

What Rinko had not expected was for her to hear a familiar voice call her name, and that voice did not belong to her date.

Rinko turned to try and find the source of the voice and came face-to-face with a very familiar face. A girl several years her junior and standing a handful of centimeters below her stood in front of her. She had purple-colored hair that she had tied up in a pair of curly twintails.

Rinko did not need any introduction to be able to recognize the girl in front of her.

"Ako-chan!" Rinko greeted with a big smile, skipping over to the younger girl's side. Ignoring the gaze that was drilling into her back to enjoy the sight of her best friend, Rinko added, "It's good to see you again, Ako-chan!"

Rinko's bright and cheery demeanor for the day, fueled by the presence of the girl she came here with, was what helped Rinko right now. She was not stumbling over her words nor was she trying to remain in the background like she usually did. But it was because of this that Rinko was missing a very basic thing.

"Rin…rin…?"

Rinko's joy vanished as soon as she heard Ako's voice. The Ako that Rinko had come to know and admire was always energetic, bombastic, explosive, even, if Rinko remembered the stories Himari and Lisa had told her. Ako was always trying her hardest to be the center of attention and it was this that helped pull Rinko towards the young drummer.

Which was the exact reason that Rinko noticed it immediately that something was wrong with Ako.

Ako looked like she had seen better days. As a matter of fact, she looked like this was the first time in days that she had left her room. Ako's hair, despite her best efforts to make herself look somewhat presentable, was very matted, and the dark bags under her eyes were not very well concealed, either. What's more, Rinko noticed with a slight frown, Ako's normally well-kept hair had strands sticking out all over the place.

But what was surprising Rinko the most was how Ako was seemingly doing her best to avoid looking her in the eyes. Ako was never uncomfortable around Rinko but now the shorter girl was looking at the ground, her shoes, Rinko's shoes, the cracks in the floor.

Everything but Rinko herself.

"Ako-chan?" Rinko finally asked as Ako found the ninth target for her eyes to focus on: the broken spider web hanging several meters behind Rinko. Rinko wasted no effort to ask Ako what was wrong; her anxiety being overthrown by worry for her friend.

"Well… um…" Ako trailed off, twirling her thumbs around one another continuously, a habit that she had picked up from Rinko herself. Ako was a smart girl and she quickly realized that she was making Rinko wait unnecessarily. Ako took a deep breath and steeled herself for her answer, "Ako did… Ako did not expect to see… Rinrin so soon…"

Rinko would normally not have put much thought on Ako's words and would have accepted them at face value. Due to all the administrative papers Rinko had to work on this past couple of days she had been unable to indulge in enjoying her online games.

However, today was different. As memories of how both Sayo and Tsugumi acted around her earlier resurfaced, Rinko knew that it would be too much of a coincidence. She wanted to ask Ako about this but was then reminded why she was here in the first place, "Ah, sorry Ako-chan… I have to go…"

Rinko was about to turn around to try and find Moca and continue their date together when Ako grabbed Rinko by the wrist. Despite her small stature and obvious exhaustion, Ako's grip on Rinko was a strong one.

Seeing no way to try and escape her best friend's hold, Rinko let out a sigh and asked Ako what was wrong.

"Why is… Why is Rinrin here?" Ako asked without looking up at Rinko. The two friends knew each other enough to understand; Ako was feeling self-conscious for having to bring something up that would cause Rinko to panic.

The problem here was that Rinko could not figure out what would cause her to break now of all times. So with no choice but to gulp down her feelings of dread, Rinko decided to be honest with Ako.

"I am here… on a… a date… with Moca-chan…" Rinko said, a small tint of red rising to and coloring her cheeks. Tucking several stray strands of hair behind her ear using the hand that Ako was not holding on to, Rinko added softly, "I told you… about this day… didn't I, Ako-chan?"

"Oh… right… of course… Rinrin's date with Moca-chin…" Ako responded sullenly with her head still tilted down. While her words implied that she understood, the inflection of her voice betrayed a different emotion.

Before Rinko could identify what it was, Ako had already let go off Rinko and scrambled for an excuse to leave, "Sorry, Rinrin, Ako has to go home now! Ako has to water the mattress and burn the plants before Onee-chan gets home. Bye, Rinrin!"

Having given her excuse, Ako turned around and ran out of the building faster than Yukina would run to a stray cat if she thought nobody was in the vicinity. With Ako's departure, Rinko was once again alone, feelings of exhaustion and dread start to fill Rinko's mind.

Rinko had to scrape all her remaining strength to drag herself to one of the benches. Throwing grace and caution into the wind, Rinko allowed herself to plop down on the bench and hunch forward. With her elbows supported by her thighs, Rinko buried her face in the palms of her hands and took a shaky breath.

'Why are things like this? What am I missing?' Rinko thought to herself as she remained huddled up in her position. She had been looking forward to this day for so long, looking forward to her first date with her crush for so long.

'Hikawa-san… Hazawa-san… even Ako-chan…' Rinko buried her face even more in her hands as she recalled the behavior of her friends that day. She had been able to keep up quite the façade but it was slowly starting to break.

Rinko barely processed the sound of someone sitting down beside her but did not need to look up to see who it was. She recognized the voice when those gentle, melodic voice tried to comfort her the same moment that a pair of arms wrapped themselves around Rinko.

Rinko shuddered at the touch, not as used to physical forms of affection as she would like to admit. Being as overcome with emotions as she was, Rinko surprised even herself when she realized that she was leaning closer to Moca; Rinko was actively seeking out the source of warmth and comfort that she knew the younger girl provided.

The two young lovers remained in that position for what felt like hours to them as Rinko could not gather the strength to move and Moca did not dare to move. Slowly but surely, Rinko's breathing evened out and she even stopped shaking as violently as she was.

It was only at this point that Rinko dared to sit back up again and disentangle herself from Moca. The moment Rinko did this she was washed by a wave of longing, but managed to ignore this to face the bigger issue.

"S-Sorry… Moca-chan…" Rinko mumbled softly as she used the back of her hands to dry her eyes. Rinko's eyes were still unnaturally red and swollen but she still managed to offer Moca a shaky smile, "This first date… didn't really go well… and it is all my fault—"

"It wasn't Rinko-san's fault at all," Moca interjected, stopping Rinko from blaming herself too much and forcing the older girl to look at her, "Rinko-san tried her best for Moca-chan and Moca-chan will always be grateful. If other things came up that ruined the mood, then it was neither Rinko-san's or Moca-chan's fault."

"But—"

"Besides, Rinko-san," Moca continued almost as if Rinko did not just interrupt her. With a knowing glint shining in her eyes, Moca added, "If Rinko-san had time to blame herself for something Rinko-san did not even do, Rinko-san had time to try and enjoy the time with Moca-chan. Or at least think of a way to make the rest of the day better, right?"

As Moca's words started to settle in and Rinko began to see what Moca was trying to get at, Moca stood up from the bench and offered her hand to Rinko with a smile.

"Maybe coming here wasn't the best idea. How about we get some more fresh air and something to eat?" Moca offered, not unaware that they had left the Hazawa Café not too long ago. Despite that, neither girl had chosen to eat anything there and the thought of food did result in one thing: the familiar grumbling of a girl's stomach.

With a scarlet-colored head, Rinko timidly accepted Moca's outstretched hand and allowed herself to be pulled back to her feet. Rinko then murmured a quick 'thank you' to Moca and hurried out of the net-café with an amused Moca trailing a bit behind her.

* * *

Rinko knew that something was wrong when she stepped inside the familiar building, and this time she was certain it had nothing to do with her past experiences that day. The usually bright interior of the neighborhood's well-known bakery was replaced by a dark and gloomy atmosphere.

The lights hanging overhead were either shattered into a million pieces or, in one lamp's case, was flickering on and off continuously. A thin layer of dust and bread crumbs littered the floor, giving it a musky and dull coating. What's more, Rinko could only see a handful of pastries on the shelves when there usually were several dozens on display at a time.

But what worried Rinko the most was the state in which the girl sitting behind the cash register was in. She looked even worse than Ako did as her hair was in a messy, matted ponytail that drooped to the side, the strands barely kept together by the hair tie. Her uniform was far from spotless, either, and even from this angle, Rinko could see the same bags under her eyes as she had seen under Ako's earlier as well.

Initially unaware of the newcomers, Saaya took a moment before she finally realized that she had customers. Saaya scrambled to get into professional mode, knocking over a stack of papers on the counter in her hurry, but froze when she saw who was in front of her.

"R-Rinko-senpai!" Saaya called out the moment her eyes landed on her senior. Quickly stepping away from the register to close the distance between the two girls, Saaya was immediately twice as conscious about how she looked.

"Good afternoon, Yamabuki-san," Rinko greeted before she looked around her. Rinko may not be as regular of a customer for the bakery as her girlfriend was, but even Rinko knew that she had arrived at a bad time for the bakery, "Moca-chan and I… were in the area and… um… we got hungry… is there anything you could… recommend to us, Yamabuki-san?"

"Rinko-senpai and… Moca…?" Saaya echoed, her eyes wide in surprise at first but the brunette was quick to put the pieces in their place. To confirm her suspicions, Saaya looked up to face her senior, tried her hardest to ignore her own exhaustion, and asked, "Moca is a regular here, but as Rinko-senpai can see we're kind of low on goods right now. What does Moca suggest the two of you get from what you can see?"

Rinko turned to face her date when she knew that Saaya had finished her question. Standing by Saaya's side and watching Moca walk through the aisles, Rinko could not help but smile. Even though they had been going out together the whole day, she still could not believe that Moca wanted to be with her.

It was during this moment of infatuation of Rinko's that she missed the worried look that Saaya was giving her.

"Here, Rinko-san~," Moca smiled as she handed Rinko the tray that held a handful of pastries on them. Moca did not need to explain, but Rinko found herself silently appreciating the fact that Moca would spend the energy to when she did, "If Moca-chan had to pick some for us, then it would probably have been these."

Prior to arriving at the bakery, the two girls had a short discussion regarding what they wanted to do. Moca was quick to suggest her favorite bakery as their destination to get something to munch on, but Moca was also aware that the bakery may not have everything they needed at this time of the day.

Rinko had gathered her courage and asked Moca to come with her to the bakery, afraid that she would not be able to get some of Moca's favorites on her own. The ivory-haired girl had agreed to this, but had also said that she would check out some of the neighboring stores after helping Rinko decide on the pastries.

"All right… thank you, Moca-chan," Rinko said with an appreciative smile of her own, her eyes still brimming of the same happiness that they held all day that day. Moca responded with a smile of her own before turning around and leaving the bakery.

Holding on to the tray as if her life depended on it, Rinko carried the pastries to the front where Saaya would be waiting. When Rinko arrived by the counter, she was surprised to find out that she was standing there alone.

"Yamabuki-san?"

"Ah, sorry, just a second, Rinko-senpai," Saaya's sheepish reply was accompanied by the brunette's hurried footsteps to catch up to her senior. Using the pockets of her apron as a cover, Saaya made sure that her phone was hidden from view as she began wrapping each pastry up.

Rinko was watching the younger girl at work with awe, the brunette moved through the motions without second-guessing herself at all. Rinko knew that she had to expect Saaya to be used to handling her job at her family's bakery, but there was something that felt amiss.

"Um… Yamabuki-san?" Rinko asked hesitantly the moment she was sure that she had not imagined it. Saaya looked up at Rinko, silently telling her to continue what she wanted to say, but Saaya's hands did not stop working, "I know that Yamabuki-san… knows this better… than I do… but shouldn't you… scan the pastries, too?"

"There's no need for that today, Rinko-senpai," Saaya said with a dry laugh as she dropped the wrapped pastries in the paper bag and pushing it in Rinko's direction, "These pastries that… that Moca loved… they are on the house today."

Rinko visibly flinched at this announcement, and not only because of the announcement itself. The keyboardist felt a sense of familiarity at those words as it wasn't too long ago that another brunette said those words to her as well. Grateful for the offer but worried about her junior's business at the same time, Rinko could not help but ask the question as soon as she managed to think of the right words.

"It really is nothing… it's better for someone to get the old bread of the day than for us to need to throw it away. And if the only way to do that is to lower the price or even give the food out for free, then that's better than having waste," Saaya reasoned with a small smile, but something was still missing in the younger girl's eyes. When Rinko did not move a muscle for several seconds Saaya gave in and let out a sigh.

"All right, Rinko-senpai…" Saaya finally relented as she subtly pushed the bag holding the pastries in them in Rinko's direction. "I understand that it will be hard for you to accept this gift, but I really don't intend on making you pay for the bread. So how about something else?"

"Something… else?" Rinko echoed, unable to hide her curiosity in her voice. At the same time, she was silently wondering what Saaya had in mind; Rinko was still on a date with Moca and she didn't want to be too distracted by Saaya's request.

'Especially not after I showed Moca-chan my bad side…' Rinko thought to herself sullenly, remembering the earlier scene where she broke down in front of Moca. Shaking her head slightly to clear her mind of such thoughts, Rinko motioned for Saaya to continue.

"This really should not take too long at all," Saaya reassured her as she pulled out her phone from her pocket. Already holding it in both her hands and having unlocked it as well, Saaya was interrupted by the distinct sound of the front door opening.

"Welcome!" Saaya pushed her own feelings back down and put on a front to greet the new set of customers. A whole group of high school girls had entered the bakery, and while they all had a vast range of expressions on their faces, they all had one thing in common.

Saaya, and even Rinko, recognized each girl the moment they had stepped inside.

"Did we come here at a bad time, Saaya?" Tomoe asked her fellow drummer with a sheepish grin before she motioned to the girls standing behind her, "I got everyone I could find here as soon as I got your message, but some of them were a bit harder to track down. Ran still hasn't read the message Himari and I sent her but she should be here soon. Hopefully. Probably."

"Let's hope we can finish this without needing her to be here…" Saaya trailed off as she took off her apron, folded it neatly and placed it on the counter. Satisfied, Saaya walked around to stand by the group of newcomers and faced Rinko with a sad smile, "Rinko-senpai is probably wondering what is going on, aren't you?"

"We should make it quick, some of us are… really not comfortable being here," Lisa said with an anxious smile, noticing that a handful of the other girls in the group bobbed their heads in agreement. Lisa turned to Tomoe with an apologetic look in her eyes and added, "Tomoe, I know that this is harder for you than for me; actually, forget I said that. I am sure that this is so much harder for any of you than it could be for me, but…"

Lisa could not finish her sentence and allowed her words to linger in the air. The mood maker of Roselia turned around and clung to the nearest source of comfort her arms could reach, not caring who or what she grabbed.

While Yukina did not seem to mind too much that Lisa was practically hanging on her arm, Rinko grew increasingly worried at the implications. Her friends had all been acting differently today and now they were confronting her as one.

Before Rinko could think of her escape plan, she was brought back to reality by the voice of Tomoe.

"Rinko-san, this may sound weird, but uh…" Tomoe began but looked around her for comfort. The members of Roselia could not offer her this support, but Himari and Tsugumi both made their way to either side of the redhead. Feeling more at ease and assured with her childhood friends holding her hands, Tomoe finished her question for Rinko, "What date is it today?"

Of all the things that Rinko's mind came up with that the other girls would confront her about, this seemingly innocent question about the date was definitely not it. Rinko was so surprised that she had to blink a couple of times before her brain finally processed the question.

"Um… it's the first… isn't it?" Rinko asked as she searched the crowd for a familiar pair of red eyes for support. When Rinko saw her friends grow even more worried, she couldn't help but ask the next question right away, "W-What's wrong?"

Ako had walked up to try and pat Lisa on the back in a calming manner, Tsugumi, Sayo, and Himari exchanged worried glances and Yukina turned to look at Tomoe before the two nodded simultaneously. Yukina stepped forward and, in a rare moment where she allowed her emotions to show, offered Rinko a watery smile, "Rinko… it's been a week now, don't you think that it is about time you start accepting the fact?"

"Accept what fact, Yukina-san?" Rinko asked, but did not only direct her question at Yukina; Rinko took a moment to look at all the girls in front of her, but none of them seemed to be willing to look Rinko in the eyes.

A period of silence followed where the normally shy and asocial Rinko was scanning the faces of the other girls to try and figure out what was going on. Seeing where she was now, she could barely remember that she started dating Moca today.

_"Moca!"_

Rinko let out a gasp and turned around to try and locate the source of that voice. Unable to find it, Rinko turned back to look at Yukina and asked, "Yukina-san, did you hear that?"

"So it started…" Saaya murmured to herself as she stepped forward, her eyes glued on the small device in her hands that she was fumbling around with. Before Rinko could ask what Saaya was doing, Saaya had tilted her head back up and showed Rinko the screen, "It's not the first today, Rinko-senpai. It's the eighth."

Rinko froze. Rinko wasn't sure if Saaya's declaration was the truth or not, being so certain of herself that it was still the first, but her hold on reality started to slip when Rinko took another look at her friends. Those apologetic, saddened, almost lifeless, even, tore at Rinko's heart.

Heart.

_"I'm… sorry…"_

Rinko dropped down on her knees on the cold floor of the bakery. Her hands had shot up to her hair and she was bent over so far forward that her forehead was almost touching her knees. Rinko felt the support of several girls but she could neither process their words or how many there were.

All that Rinko could see was the image of the limp body of—

_"I couldn't… fulfill our promise, after all…"_

"Breathe, Rinko! Breathe!"

Even though Lisa was kneeling down right beside her, it almost felt like the older girl's voice came from the other side of the room. The far side of a long corridor that Rinko managed to get herself lost in.

Rinko took a couple of ragged breaths before she managed to control the trembling of her body. The world stopped spinning as much and Rinko finally managed to raise her head, if only slightly.

"Rinko… I… we are all so sorry…" Lisa continued with wet eyes, pulling the girl into a tight embrace. Without letting go off Rinko and instead moving in a way that would allow others to join comforting the keyboardist, Lisa added, "We are all so sorry… it shouldn't have ended this way…"

Before she knew what was happening, Tsugumi, Himari, Ako, and Saaya had joined Lisa and made the group hug the lifeline Rinko could latch on and cling to. It also caused Rinko to suffocate for a few seconds when Ako wrapped her arms a bit too tightly around her neck, but what was really bothering Rinko was one thing. One specific burning question she still had in her mind.

"What… happened?" Rinko managed to whisper. Even though Rinko's already soft voice was greatly muffled by the bodies around her, Rinko somehow knew… Rinko was certain that they could all hear what she was asking, "What happened… if today is the eighth instead… of the first?"

"Well, to tell you the truth—," Tomoe began but was interrupted when the doors of the bakery opened again. The redhead seemed to be fairly annoyed by this interruption but bit back her feelings when she saw who had just entered.

Striding inside the bakery was none other than Mitake Ran. The vocalist of Afterglow took a moment to look around before she recognized the crowd. Ran mumbled a quiet apology to Tomoe and was already turned to face Rinko, but Rinko's attention was on something else.

Ran was not the only person who had entered the bakery. Following behind Ran and walking in with a dreamy look in her eyes was Aoba Moca. Rinko's date also took a moment to take in the scene in front of her before making another move.

Unlike Ran, who was quick to get to Tomoe's side, Moca remained standing in front of the door with a small smile on her face.

"Moca-chan!" Rinko cried out, using the remainder of her strength to squirm out of the group hug and scurry over to where Moca was standing. Rinko managed to barely avoid running into an aisle herself and tried to get to Moca, but she did not make it very far.

The looks on the faces of the other girls inside the bakery were all filled with guilt and grief, but the one who held the most emotion was Moca. Moca, upon seeing that Rinko had torn herself away from her friends to try and reach her, simply took another step back while shaking her head slowly.

"Rinrin!"

Ako's voice calling out to her made Rinko skid to a stop and turn around to face her best friend. Rinko was forced to close her eyes shut when a bright flash of light blinded her the moment she looked at Ako.

"A-Ako-chan…" Rinko whimpered while rubbing her eyes. She could not tell where that light came from but, feeling somewhat dizzy still, Rinko had to hold on to the countertop to remain standing, "What was… that for?"

"As expected of Ako-chin to find a way to tell Rinko-san," Moca's voice reached Rinko's ears at about the same time when Rinko started to regain her eyesight again. Rinko turned to look at Moca, but before Rinko could even open her mouth Moca already answered the question, "Why doesn't Rinko-san ask Ako-chin what just happened. It would be easier if Ako-chin just showed you, after all."

Rinko nodded in understanding despite not being completely assured of the fact yet herself. Regardless, Rinko found herself turning around almost mechanically before confronting her best friend, "Why did you… what happened?"

"Here…" Ako, instead of answering Rinko's question, held up her phone to show the picture she had just taken. Depicted in the picture was the interior of the Yamabuki Bakery, or at least seen from the angle that Ako had when taking the picture, complete with all the empty shelves and aisles. Hidden behind the glass windows Rinko could see the shops on the other side of the street.

And depicted in the picture was Rinko, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly agape. Pushing down the need to complain about having her picture taken, Rinko instead focused on something else in the picture.

Or, rather, on something that wasn't in the picture.

"Ako-chan…" Rinko began as she studied the picture more intently. After looking up to double-check with the real world, Rinko turned back to Ako and finished her question, "Where's Moca-chan in the picture?"

A deadly silence followed after Rinko asked the question where nobody made a move to break it. Rinko herself, upon seeing the same look on all the other girls in the room, turned her head around to look at the girl she had spent the day with.

"Moca-chan!" Rinko cried, raising one arm to try and reach Moca's hand. Right when Rinko's hand should have touched Moca's, Moca pulled back her hand and shook her head once.

"I am sorry it came down to this, Rinko-san," Moca offered an apologetic smile in Rinko's direction. As she said this, Moca's body started to glow a dull yellow light. The light enveloped her, fading out her features from Rinko.

"Moca-chan, please!" Rinko tried again, but her eyes had clouded over with tears and hindered her vision. Tripping over her own feet, Rinko had to move her hands quickly to try and break her fall. Now on the floor, Rinko yelled out the words she had been bottling up for the whole day through her sobs, "I love you, Moca-chan!"

"And I loved you."

Rinko stopped momentarily when she finally registered what Moca had told her. Tilting her head up and peering through her bangs, Rinko could see the Moca standing in front of her. Rinko wanted to smile at Moca's words but ended up almost choking on her saliva.

Moca's body was starting to fade.

Moca realized this at about the same time that Rinko did, but instead of being surprised or alarmed by it she almost seemed… relieved. Moca raised her fading right hand and looked at it before closing her eyes, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"If this is happening now then that means Rinko-san is finally ready to accept it," Moca murmured softly, but her voice was still loud enough for Rinko to be able to hear her, "My only regret is that I could not reduce the sufferings of my friends, and for you, Rinko-san."

Feeling like her body would disintegrate soon, Moca smiled at Rinko. It was not a smile of sadness or apology, but one that was meant to give Rinko strength and support. And the smile would have done its job had it been in any other situation.

"I see that you are still confused, Rinko-san. Perhaps Ran or Tomo-chin could explain it in more detail," Moca noted, this time her smile did turn apologetic in nature. Despite the fact that she wanted nothing more than to close the distance between herself and Rinko, Moca took another step back. By the time that Moca opened her mouth again to speak, her eyes were overflowing with tears yet again, "Until we meet again on the other side, Rinko-san."

"Moca-chan!"

Rinko never managed to reach Moca, collapsing on all fours before she could even see Moca's image shatter in a million pieces. Her cries mixed in with the sobs of the girls around her as Rinko was forced to accept the fact.

"We all knew that this day would come, but it's still a shock that it happened so fast," Tomoe muttered, her voice barely audible over the sound of the tears. Ran, who was standing by Tomoe's side, nodded once, a stoic look on her face.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I do have to ask, Mitake-san, Udagawa-san," Yukina began as she eyed the two girls. When both Ran and Tomoe motioned for Yukina to continue, the older girl did so without skipping a beat, "How are neither of you affected by Aoba-san's… passing…"

"It's not that we aren't affected by it, Minato-san. When we found out that Moca was gone, it… tore us apart as well," Ran admitted through gritted teeth as Tomoe nodded in agreement. Trying her hardest to keep her shaking hands under control, Ran took a deep breath before she continued where she had left off, "But unlike Shirokane-san, we've… had more time to come to terms with it. We've known about it longer, and Moca… wasn't the best at hiding it."

"No, she wasn't…" Tomoe, despite herself, had to admit that Ran was right. With a sad smile, the redhead let out a sigh, "But that did not stop us from being heartbroken ourselves during Moca's last few days in the hospital. As a matter of fact, I don't think I have seen Himari or Tsugu cry that much in one day. The way I just said that it might seem like Ran and I were Captain Stoic, but we… broke down as much as those two did."

Yukina nodded her head once in understanding before she looked at both Tomoe and Ran. The three girls knew what they needed to do and silently agreed on a plan.

Careful to avoid disturbing the group of grieving girls in the middle of the bakery, Ran, Tomoe, and Yukina made their way out of the building in order to find something for everybody to drink.

Rinko, at that very moment, could not be bothered to think of anything else. The sound of her friends' tears only further spurred Rinko's own to fall. And it was only now that the cold, hard truth started to sink in for Shirokane Rinko.

Moca was gone. And Rinko would never get her back.

* * *

**Well, that is all for me… goodbye and take care.**


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